MWC 2022: the best bits from Barcelona

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the world’s largest mobile connectivity showcase. From shiny new smartphones and routers to robotics and artificial intelligence, and everything in between, MWC often sees the unveiling of major technology innovations.

Here is a roundup of some of this year’s most exciting highlights.

Flying the flagship

There was a time when MWC was where all the smartphone brands (bar Apple) revealed their latest handsets. But, after two pandemic-hit years, things have changed. Major players like Samsung focused on laptops, leaving the floor open for challenger brands to step into the spotlight.

Motorola entered the fray with the Edge+ – its latest flagship that features the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, a 144-Hz screen refresh rate, and a triple-camera with optical image stabilisation.

Not to be outdone, OPPO revealed its (stunning) new Find X5 smartphone on the eve of the show before letting people get hands-on during the event. With its unique ceramic design, ColorOS 12 operating system, and an impressive camera setup (powered by its new MariSilicon X NPU), the Find X5 Series could make some serious waves in the industry.

Supercharged innovation

Sticking with OPPO, the company also announced its new 150W SuperVOOC fast-charging for smartphones, which can charge a 4,500mAh battery from 1 to 50 percent in five minutes, and 100 percent in just 15. With its new Battery Health Engine (BHE), OPPO is also taking charging safety and long-term performance into consideration too.

Honor, the former Huawei sub-brand that recently struck out on its own, unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Magic 4 Pro. Its 4,600mAh battery can be fast-charged wirelessly at 100W – giving users 50 percent power in just 10 minutes.

From concept to reality

Outside of the smartphone space, Lenovo and Huawei announced they would both be bringing new additions to their product portfolios.

Lenovo unveiled a new gaming laptop range in the form of the IdeaPad Gaming 3 that included two Intel 12^th Gen and two AMD Ryzen 6000-series-equipped models, each with a 15.6-inch and 16-inch option. Much like the Legion 5 Pro, the 16-inch option has a 16:10 aspect ratio display with the option to go up to 2560×1600, making it great for gaming, browsing, and everything in between.

Huawei, on the other hand, announced its first ever e-reader: the MatePad Paper. Although at first glance its design resembles that of the classic Amazon Kindle, its features, like an M-Pencil Stylus for notetaking, a built-in mic for voice recording, and a 10.3-inch E Ink display, enable it to double as both a productivity and consumption device.

Planet Computers also generated buzz at this year’s ShowStoppers with its new Astro Slide 5G, a slick smartphone featuring a sharp 6.39″ AMOLED display and high-quality 48MP Sony sensor camera, which doubles as a pocket computer, courtesy of a smooth slide-out keyboard.

This year’s event may not have been brimming with attendees, but it was certainly teeming with technology.